Hermetically sealing closure device having a sliding door

ABSTRACT

An assembly for hermetically sealing an opening in a wall comprises a sliding door having sealing means along its bottom edge and along the top and lateral edges of its face adjacent the wall, and suspension rollers which slidably mount the door on a rail fastened to the wall and which are movable along the rail. The rail comprises fixed sections between adjacent ones of which are two sections which are movable between a first position in which the movable sections are aligned with the fixed rail sections and the door is disposed in a raised, clear position which permits it to move along the rail without obstruction, and a second position in which the movable sections are displaced downwards and towards the wall with respect to the fixed rail sections and the door is applied against the wall so that the opening is hermetically sealed. The rollers are arranged to engage the two movable sections respectively when the door is opposite the opening whereby the sections are moved to the said second position.

United States Patent [191 Calais et al.

[4 June 25, 1974 [75] Inventors: Bernard Calais; Luis Vidal, both ofRambouillet, France [73] Assignee: Ste. Bernard Calais S.A.R.L.,

Rambouillet, France [22] Filed: June 26, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 373,635

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Mar. 7, 1972 France 72.24570 [56]References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1910 Murray 49/224 3,412,50711/1968 Sterner 49/212 3,415,014 12/1968 Hamilton 49/235 X FORElGNPATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,125,310 3/1962 Germany 49/212 1,546,04310/1968 France 49/409 Primary Examiner-Kenneth Downey Attorney, Agent,or Firm-Clelle W. Upchurch 5 7] ABSTRACT An assembly for hermeticallysealing an opening in a wall comprises a sliding door having sealingmeans along its bottom edge and along the top and lateral edges of itsface adjacent the wall, and suspension rollers which slidably mount thedoor on a rail fastened to the wall and which are movable along therail. The rail comprises fixed sections between adjacent ones of whichare two sections which are movable between a first position in which themovable sections are aligned with the fixed rail sections and the dooris disposed in a raised, clear position which permits it to move alongthe rail without obstruction, and a second position in which the movablesections are displaced downwards and towards the wall with respect tothe fixed rail sections and the door is applied against the a wall sothat the opening is hermetically sealed. The rollers are arranged toengage the two movable sections respectively when the door is oppositethe opening whereby the sections are moved to the said second position.

9 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTED JUN 2 51974 SHEET 1 OF 4 PA-TENTEBJUN25 I974 SHEET 3 BF 4 I-IERMETICALLY SEALING CLOSURE DEVICE HAVING ASLIDING DOOR The present invention relates to an assembly for sealinghermetically an opening made in a wall, of the type which comprises adoor, fitted with sealing joints positioned along its lower edge andalong the upper and lateral edges of its face adjacent to the wall,which is mounted to slide on a shaped horizontal rail, fastened to thewall, by means of two suspension rollers which move along the said rail,and means to move the door between a raised clear position which permitsthe door to slide without obstruction along the rail and a hermeticallysealed position in which the said door is applied against the wall andthe ground in the area of the opening so as to block off the openinghermetically.

In a known assembly of this type the means for moving the door areformed in the following way: on the one hand, a dip is made in theshaped rail along the track for the suspension rollers at the point atwhich each of the said rollers is situated when the door is opposite thewall opening, this dip producing a vertical movement of the rollers andthus of the door which they carry, and, on the other hand, anintermediate link is interposed between a support bracket for eachsuspension roller and the door, this link being fitted with acontrol-arm of which the free end carries a roller and cooperates with asecond track of the shaped rail. In order that it may function, thisknown assembly must also incorporate a third roller known as acompensating roller which is associated with each suspension roller andcooperates with a third track on the shaped rail; each of thecompensating rollers has the function of counter-acting the imbalancedue to the reaction exerted by the door on the appropriate supportbracket when the said door is moved into the hermetically sealedposition. This known assembly is thus complicated in construction, sinceit requires, in particular, a rail incorporating three different tracks,two extra rollers associated with each suspension roller, and anintermediate link also associated with each suspension roller which iscapable, on conjunction with its control arm, of supporting the weightof the door.

It is an object of the invention to provide an assembly for hermeticallysealing an opening in a wall which is of simple construction and whichovercomes or substantially reduces the aforementioned drawbacks.

To this end, the invention consists in an assembly for hermeticallysealing an opening in a wall comprising a door having sealing meansarranged to hermetically seal said opening, two suspension rollers whichslidably mount the door on a rail fastened to the wall and which aremovable along the rail, said rail comprising a fixed part and twosections which are movable with respect to said fixed rail part, betweena first position in which said sections are aligned with the fixed partof the rail and the door is disposed in a raised, clear, position whichpermits it to move along the rail without obstruction, and a secondposition in which said sections are displaced downwards and towards thewall with respect to said fixed rail part and the door is appliedagainst the wall so that the opening is hennetically sealed, saidsections and rollers being so disposed in relation to each other thatwhen the door is opposite the wall opening the two rollers engage saidtwo sections respectively to move said two sections downwardly andtowards the wall into said second position.

In this new assembly, only one track is necessary, so that the rail canhave an uncomplicated outline. Furthermore, the supporting brackets forthe suspension rollers may now be fixed directly to the door.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference tothe accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view, in plan and in horizontal section along lineII of FIG. la, an assembly for hermetically sealing an opening in awall, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention,

FIG. la is a schematic, vertical section along line A.A of FIG. 1, v

FIG. 2 is a plan view, partially cut away, of a support bracket with itssuspension roller, mounted on a rail near a movable section of the rail,

FIG. 3 is a plan view, partially cut away, of the support bracket andthe suspension roller shown in FIG. 2 when situated vertically above thecentre of an associated movable section of the rail,

FIG. 4 is an elevation of the movable section shown in FIGS. 1 to 3,

FIG. 5 is a vertical section along line VV of FIG. 2, and g FIG. 6 is avertical section along line VI-VI of FIG. 2.

In FIGS. I and la can be seen an assembly for sealing hermetically anopening 1 made in the wall 2 of an enclosure such as a deep-freezechamber. This closure assembly comprises a door 3 fitted with a sealingjoint (not shown) positioned along its lower edge and with sealingjoints 4 positioned along the lateral and upper edge of the faceadjacent to the wall 2. The door 3 is mounted to slide on a shapedhorizontal rail 5, fastened to the wall 2, by means of two suspensionrollers 6 and 7 which move along the said rail 5 and each of whoseshafts is mounted in a support bracket 8 fixed to the door 3. Theassembly shown in the drawings also incorporates means for moving thedoor 3 between a raised clear position (shown in broken lines in FIG. 1)which enables it to slide along the rail 5 without obstruction, and ahermetically sealed position (shown in solid lines in FIGS. 1 and la) inwhich the said door 3 is applied against the wall 2 in the area of theopening 1, and in which the lower edge (not shown) of the door 3 isapplied against the ground so that the door 3 blocks off the saidopening 1 hermetically.

To produce this movement of the door 3, the rail 5 incorporates twosections 9, 10 which can be moved or displaced downwards and towards thewall 2 with respect to the remainder of the rail 5, which is formed byfixed sections of rail 5a, 5b, and 5c. Each movable section 9, 10 isassociated with one suspension roller 6, 7 of the door 3 and is locatedalong the rail 5 at the point at which the said suspension roller 6, 7is situated when the door 3 is opposite the opening 1, as shown in solidlines in FIG. 1. The movable sections 9, 10 are thus so arranged as toform the means of moving the door 3 between the raised clear position(shown in broken lines), in which the said sections 9, 10 are inalignment with the fixed part 5a, 5b, 5c of the rail 5, and thehermetically sealed position (shown in solid lines), in which the saidsections 9, 10 are displaced downwards and towards the wall 2 withrespect to the fixed part 5a, 5b, 5c of rail 5.

As can be seen particularly in FIGS. 2 to 6, each movable section 9, 10is guided in a slide-way integral 3 with the fixed part 5a, 5b, 5c ofthe rail 5, which is formed by a groove 11 made in each of the end facesof the sections of fixed rail 5a, 5b or 5b, 50 which surround themovable section 9 or 10. A terminal tongue 12 of appropriate shapeprovided on each of the end faces of the movable sections 9, can slidein each of the grooves 11, as can be seen in particular in FIG. 4. Thegrooves l l are inclined at 45 with respect to, and extend towards, thewall 2 so that each movable section 9, 10, starting from the alignedposition, is guided downwards and towards the wall 2. Each movablesection 9, It) incorporates a stop-plate 13 attached to its lower facewhich projects beyond the said movable section 9, 10 at either end andwhich performs the function of an abutment able to cooperate with twotravelrestricting stops integral with the fixed part 5a, 5b, 5c of therail 5 so as to define two extreme positions for the movable section 9,10, one corresponding to the door 3 being in the hermetically sealedposition and the other to the said door being in the raised clearposition. One of the limit stops is formed by the ends of neighbouringsections of fixed rail, 5a, 5b, or 512, 5c which are adjacent to themovable section 9 or 10; the other travelrestricting stop is formed by ayoke 14 fonning a rigid connection between the said ends of neighbouringfixed sections of rail 5a, 5b, or 5b, 5c. Two helical return springs 15are provided on either side of each movable section 9 or 10 between thesaid section 9 or 10 and the fixed part 5a, 512 or 5b, 5c of the rail 5and are so arranged as to thrust the said movable section 9 or 10 intothe position in which it lines up with the said fixed part 5a, 5b or 5b,5c of the rail 5. For this purpose, the springs 15 are each mounted onthe shank of a screw 16 attached to one end of a neighbouring fixedsection of rail 5a, 5b or 5b, 5c and they bear, on the one hand, on thehead 16a of the said screw 16 and, on the other hand, on the stop plate13 associated with the movable section 9 or 10. Each suspension roller6, 7 on the door 3 incorporates two lateral flanges 17, each able tocooperate with the adjacent lateral face 5d, 5e of the rail 5, which isadvantageously of circular crosssection. For each movable section 9, 10of the rail 5, a clearance cut-out 18 is made in each of the ends ofneighbouring fixed sections of rail 5a, 5b, or 5b, 5c which are adjacentto the said movable section 9 or 10. The clearance cut-outs 18 are madein the opposite lateral face 5d of the said end of a section 5a to 50from the wall 2, and are so proportioned as to be able to accommodatethe adjacent flange 17 of the roller 6, 7 associated with the saidmovable section 9, 10 when the said roller 6, 7 is resting on or engagedwith the said movable section 9, 10 and when the latter is in itsdisplaced position with respect to the fixed part 5 a to 5c of the rail5 (the position in which the movable section 9, 10 is shown in solidlines in FIGS. 1 and 3). In the case of the appropriate ends of thefixed sections of rail 5a to 50, each cut-out 18 forms a flat verticalsurface 19 which is inclined with respect to the main axis 20 of therail 5 and, unlike neighbouring movable section 9, 10, merges at 21 intothe adjacent cylindrical lateral (boundary) face 5d of the said fixedsection of rail 5a to 5c. The boundary 22 of each inclined surface 19 atthe same side as the movable section-9, 10 is set back by a distance aequal to the horizontal component of the movement of the door 3 betweenits raised clear position and its hermetically sealed position. Eachinclined surface 19 is thus able to form a guiding surface for theadjacent flange 17 of a roller 6, 7 as it leaves the movable section 9,10 with which it is associated. Thus the surface 19 are capable ofcooperating with the adjacent flange 17 of a roller 6, 7 and of guidingthe latter in its movement at right angles to the axis 20 of the rail 5.

In order to be able to open fully the opening 1 in the wall 2, aretractable catch is provided on the movable section 9 which is situateddownstream in the direction in which the door 3 slides to open (arrow fin FIG. 1). This catch must be so arranged as to lock the saiddownstream movable section 9 in the position in which it is in line withthe fixed part 5a to 5c of the rail 5 when the upstream roller 7(situated on the right of FIG. 1) passes onto the said downstreammovable section 9. For this purpose, and as can be seen in partivular inFIGS. 2 and 3, the catch incorporates a locking member or wedge 23 whichis normally inserted between the travel-restricting stop formed by theyoke 14 and the stop-plate 13 on the downstream movable section 9. Tothis end, the locking wedge 23 is hinged to a plate 24 fixed to the saidyoke 14, a return spring 25 between the said plate 24 and the lockingwedge 23 holds the latter against the peg 26 on the plate 24. Thelocking wedge 23 incorporates an actuating plate 27 which is able tocooperate with a tongue 28 fastened to the supporting bracket 8 of thedownstream roller 6 (situated on the left of FIG. 1) on the door 3, sothat, when the said roller 6 moves onto the downstream movable section9, the latter is unlocked and can be moved into its position of maximumdisplacement with respect to the fixed section of rail 50 to 50.

Each roller 6, 7 advantageously has, on the opposite side from the wall2, a frusto-conical running section 29, the major base of which facestowards the outside of the roller 6, 7.

It will be appreciated that the described assembly is very simple inconstruction by virtue of the facts that the single track results in arail of uncomplicated outline and that the roller support brackets aredirectly fixed to the door.

We claim:

1. An assembly for hermetically sealing an opening in a wall, saidassembly comprising:

a. a door having sealing means arranged to hermetically seal saidopening,

b. two suspension rollers mounted on said door and c. a rail which isfastened to the wall and on which said suspension rollers slidably mountsaid door and are movable along said rail, said rail comprising,

1. a fixed part and 2. two sections which are movable with respect tosaid fixed rail part between a first position in which said sections arealigned with the fixed part of the rail and the door is disposed in araised, clear, position which permits it to move along the rail withoutobstruction, and a second position in which said sections are displaceddownwards and towards the wall with respect to said fixed rail part andthe door is applied against the wall so that the opening is hermeticallysealed, whereby, when the door is opposite the wall opening, the tworollers engage said two sections respectively to move said two sectionsdownwardly and towards the wall into said second position.

2. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein each movable section isguided in a slide-way in the fixed part of the rail and incorporates anabutment arranged to cooperate with two travel-restricting stopsfastened to the fixed part of the rail and defining two extremepositions for the said movable section, which correspond respectively tosaid first and second positions and wherein a return spring is operativebetween each said movable section respectively and said fixed rail partto thrust a respective movable section towards said first position.

3. An assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein said abutment is formed bya member fixed to a lower face of each movable section respectively andprojecting beyond each end of the movable section, and one of saidtravel'restricting stops is formed by the ends of neighbouring fixedsections of the fixed part of the rail adjacent the movable section, andthe other travelrestricting stop is formed by a yoke which interconnectsthe said ends of the fixed rail sections.

4. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein each suspension rollerincorporates two lateral flanges which cooperate with adjacent lateralfaces of the rail, and for each movable section of the rail a clearancecut-out is made in at least one of the ends of neighbouring fixedsections of the fixed part of the rail adjacent to the associatedmovable section, in the lateral face of the or each end which is remotefrom the wall, this clearance cut-out being so proportioned as to enableit to accommodate the adjacent flange of the roller associated with thesaid movable section when the particular movable section has been movedinto its second position when engaged by the associated roller.

5. An assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein in the case of the end ofa neighbouring fixed rail section adjacent to a movable section, theclearance cut-out is formed by a surface which is inclined with respectto the longitudinal axis of the rail, which inclined surface, unlike thesaid movable section, merges into the adjacent lateral face of the saidfixed rail part, and said inclined surface has a boundary at the sameside as the movable section which is spaced from its other boundary by adistance equal to the horizontal component of the movement of the door.

6. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of the movablesections is fitted with a retractable catch which is able to lock thismovable section in said first position and which is controllable by atongue fastened to a supporting bracket of a roller.

7. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rail is of circularcross-section.

8. An assembly as claimed in claim 7, wherein each suspension rollerhas, at its side remote from the wall, a frustro-conical running sectionthe major base of which faces towards the outside of the roller.

9. An assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein the sealing means isarranged along the bottom edge of the door and along the top and lateraledges of the door face adjacent the wall, each suspension rollerincorporates two lateral flanges which cooperate with adjacent lateralfaces of the rail and for each movable rail section two clearancecut-outs are made in the ends of said neighbouring fixed rail sectionsadjacent said movable sections in those lateral faces of said ends whichare remote from said wall for accommodating the adjacent flanges of therollers when said movable sections are in the second position, eachclearance cut-out being formed by a surface which is inclined withrespect to the longitudinal axis of the rail and which merges into theadjacent lateral face of said fixed rail part and said inclined surfacehas a boundary at the same side as the movable section which is spacedfrom its other boundary by a distance equal to the horizontal componentof movement of the door, one of said movable sections being fitted witha retractable catch which locks this movable section in said firstposition and which is controllable by a tongue fastened to a supportingbracket of a roller, said rail being of circular cross-section and eachsuspension roller having, at its side remote from the wall, afrusto-conical running section the major base of which faces towards theoutside of the roller.

1. An assembly for hermetically sealing an opening in a wall, said assembly comprising: a. a door having sealing means arranged to hermetically seal said opening, b. two suspension rollers mounted on said door and c. a rail which is fastened to the wall and on which said suspension rollers slidably mount said door and are movable along said rail, said rail comprising,
 1. a fixed part and
 2. two sections which are movable with respect to said fixed rail part between a first position in which said sections are aligned with the fixed part of the rail and the door is disposed in a raised, clear, position which permits it to move along the rail without obstruction, and a second position in which said sections are displaced downwards and towards the wall with respect to said fixed rail part and the door is applied against the wall so that the opening is hermetically sealed, whereby, when the door is opposite the wall opening, the two rollers engage said two sections respectively to move said two sections downwardly and towards the wall into said second position.
 2. two sections which are movable with respect to said fixed rail part between a first position in which said sections are aligned with the fixed part of the rail and the door is disposed in a raised, clear, position which permits it to move along the rail without obstruction, and a second position in which said sections are displaced downwards and towards the wall with respect to said fixed rail part and the door is applied against the wall so that the opening is hermetically sealed, whereby, when the door is opposite the wall opening, the two rollers engage said two sections respectively to move said two sections downwardly and towards the wall into said second position.
 2. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein each movable section is guided in a slide-way in the fixed part of the rail and incorporates an abutment arranged to cooperate with two travel-restricting stops fastened to the fixed part of the rail and definIng two extreme positions for the said movable section, which correspond respectively to said first and second positions and wherein a return spring is operative between each said movable section respectively and said fixed rail part to thrust a respective movable section towards said first position.
 3. An assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein said abutment is formed by a member fixed to a lower face of each movable section respectively and projecting beyond each end of the movable section, and one of said travel-restricting stops is formed by the ends of neighbouring fixed sections of the fixed part of the rail adjacent the movable section, and the other travel-restricting stop is formed by a yoke which interconnects the said ends of the fixed rail sections.
 4. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein each suspension roller incorporates two lateral flanges which cooperate with adjacent lateral faces of the rail, and for each movable section of the rail a clearance cut-out is made in at least one of the ends of neighbouring fixed sections of the fixed part of the rail adjacent to the associated movable section, in the lateral face of the or each end which is remote from the wall, this clearance cut-out being so proportioned as to enable it to accommodate the adjacent flange of the roller associated with the said movable section when the particular movable section has been moved into its second position when engaged by the associated roller.
 5. An assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein in the case of the end of a neighbouring fixed rail section adjacent to a movable section, the clearance cut-out is formed by a surface which is inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the rail, which inclined surface, unlike the said movable section, merges into the adjacent lateral face of the said fixed rail part, and said inclined surface has a boundary at the same side as the movable section which is spaced from its other boundary by a distance equal to the horizontal component of the movement of the door.
 6. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of the movable sections is fitted with a retractable catch which is able to lock this movable section in said first position and which is controllable by a tongue fastened to a supporting bracket of a roller.
 7. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rail is of circular cross-section.
 8. An assembly as claimed in claim 7, wherein each suspension roller has, at its side remote from the wall, a frustro-conical running section the major base of which faces towards the outside of the roller.
 9. An assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein the sealing means is arranged along the bottom edge of the door and along the top and lateral edges of the door face adjacent the wall, each suspension roller incorporates two lateral flanges which cooperate with adjacent lateral faces of the rail and for each movable rail section two clearance cut-outs are made in the ends of said neighbouring fixed rail sections adjacent said movable sections in those lateral faces of said ends which are remote from said wall for accommodating the adjacent flanges of the rollers when said movable sections are in the second position, each clearance cut-out being formed by a surface which is inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the rail and which merges into the adjacent lateral face of said fixed rail part and said inclined surface has a boundary at the same side as the movable section which is spaced from its other boundary by a distance equal to the horizontal component of movement of the door, one of said movable sections being fitted with a retractable catch which locks this movable section in said first position and which is controllable by a tongue fastened to a supporting bracket of a roller, said rail being of circular cross-section and each suspension roller having, at its side remote from the wall, a frusto-conical running section the major base of which faces towards the outside of the roller. 